Five Times
by Doll Girl
Summary: Five Times Dylan was there when they needed him and one time he was the one that needed them.


Disclaimer: Not mine.

Henley

Henley crossed her arms as she sat in her apartment. Even though it was warm she was still freezing as her body temperature stayed above normal. Having the flu sucked.

She sighed but perked up when she heard movement. The escape artist left her bedroom and looked into her kitchen.

There was Dylan stirring a pot of chicken soup. She blinked. "What are you doing here?"

Only one she told that she was sick was Daniel!

Dylan looked at her and gave her a kind smile. "I heard you were sick." He went over and felt her forehead and cheek. "You're a little warm. Go lay down and I'll bring it to you once its finished.

"Once what's finished?" she asked confused.

"Just the cure-all for all sickness: chicken soup!"

Henley smiled. "Thanks. Daniel tell you?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Heh yes. He wanted to come over but I told him, Merritt, and Jack that they had a show tonight. They send their love and hope you get better."

She nodded touched by their concern.

"Now will you at least sit on the couch? Alma's going to come by later with some medicine and she will kill me if you're not resting!"

Henley grinned as she did just that. Once she sat down she saw a basket on her table filled with her favorite things as well as a card signed by the Horsemen, Alma, and Dylan. Her eyes glistened as she lay down.

Dylan came in a few minutes later with the soup and put his arm around her as she ate. Once finished they watched TV and she laid her head on his lap. She felt his fingers card through her hair in a soothing manner and just his presence made her feel safe. It didn't take long for her to drift off as Dylan worked his magic on her.

Merritt

Merritt grumbled as he rubbed his cheek. Sometimes his abilities got him in trouble and this time he'd been unable to finish because the woman had gotten angry.

Ah well…lady shouldn't have dated her best friend's husband and gotten pregnant!

"Do I want to know?"

He smirked as he turned to the amused Dylan. "I don't think so."

The FBI agent shook his head with a grin. "Come on. I'll buy you a drink. You look like you could use one."

Merritt nodded and they went into a bar before sitting down and ordering drinks.

Merritt looked at the master magician. He could never get a good read on Dylan. The man had the best poker face and even in the interrogation room he'd thrown him off.

Dylan gave him a smirk. "Don't bother. You can't read my mind."

Merritt smirked back. "Learned that the hard way. You shocked the hell out of us."

He chuckled. "That was the intention. Don't feel bad. I've learned how to block out things to stay hidden."

"You do it well."

"You gave me a run for my money though. I got worried when you said something about daddy issues. You got a gift Merritt. I bet you could make some politicians nervous."

Merritt sat up a bit straighter at the praise. Normally he didn't care what others thought but this was his mentor. This man mattered. The Horsemen mattered. Alma mattered. They were the first family he'd had in years. "Thanks…nice to hear it once in a while."

Dylan nodded and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey I'm proud of you."

Merritt swallowed and nodded. "Thanks."

After that they drank in companionable silence.

Daniel

Daniel groaned as he sat once again in handcuffs and muttered under his breath. This time Alma was sitting across from him with her arms crossed and looking stern. He had a feeling he might WANT to go to prison just to avoid her wrath!

"You're lucky Mr. Atlas. Agent Rhodes will be along any minute," Alma said sounding very much like his mother.

He shot her a cocky grin but it quickly melted. He was in hot water and this time he knew Dylan wasn't a fool.

The Eye had sent him and the Horsemen on a mission to rob a wealthy socialite. It had gone south quickly and he made sure the others got away as he got arrested.

And guess who arrested him?

Dylan had slipped into his FBI persona but instead of going along with a trick to get away he held fast and didn't let him. Normally they'd have a familiar war of words that were laughed at about later but this time he had disobeyed an order by Dylan and could have gotten killed.

Daniel had a sense of de ja vu as if waiting for his Dad to come ground him and start yelling.

"I can't imagine how frightened your parents must be! Its bad enough to break into peoples houses but you could have been killed!"

The last five words hit home. He gulped a bit and shut his eyes. "Believe me I know."

Alma frowned. "Agent Rhodes heard the gunshot."

He winced. Dylan had been teaching him and the others more magic tricks that they hadn't even heard of and they bonded with him.

"Tell my Dad I'm sorry." He looked at Alma and gave a crooked grin. "Mom too."

She kept her frown but her eyes smiled. She nodded to the mirror.

Seconds later Dylan came in and sat down. "Well Atlas. What were you doing?"

The gruffness made him wince. "Just uh…"

"No robbery is worth your life Atlas," Dylan looked at him right in the eyes. "Glad you made it."

Later that day when Daniel broke out Dylan whapped him upside the head for his stupidity before pulling him into a hug. "You scared the shit out of me today Boy."

Daniel returned the hug. "I'm sorry." He bit back a grin. "So how long am I benched for?"

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Oh no I got a special job for you."

Daniel didn't like that smirk and a week later he learned why. He was performing in a bright clown costume for a little girl's party.

He felt like an idiot. Then Dylan walked up to him and handed him a card. Inside was a hundred dollars and a note.

'Be more careful in the future.'

Dylan pat his shoulder before leaving.

Daniel was extra alert from then on.

Jack

He hadn't stood a chance. The brutish men were too much for him to be able to fight. It didn't take long for them to have him on the ground as they beat him.

"FBI FREEZE!"

Jack turned his head as the guys ran. Several agents followed but one knelt down and gently ran a hand through his hair. He looked up to meet the concerned eyes of Dylan Rhodes.

"Hey…" Jack said weakly with a pained grin.

Dylan looked at him worriedly as he pulled him close. "You'll be ok Jack. You're stubborn."

Jack shut his eyes and rested his head on his mentor's shoulder. He felt the agent's arms wrap around him. "Dylan…"

"Shhh…its ok. I've got you."

"Stay?"

He felt Dylan rest his chin on his own head. "Always."

Jack felt his eyes tear up as he reached up and clenched the familiar black suit coat. He felt like a child as he curled up in his lap.

Dylan cradled him close and hummed to him as he rubbed his arm.

At the sound of sirens Jack tensed. "Don't leave me alone! Please…!"

Dylan shushed him before cupping the young man's cheek and using his thumb to wipe away the tears. He met his eyes. "I'm right here Jack. I swear to you on my father's grave that I will not leave you."

Jack swallowed and nodded. He believed him.

Dylan kept his word. From the ride in the ambulance to him being taken back for surgery when he was forced to wait in the waiting room. Within the hour the other Horsemen and Alma arrived.

A few days later when Jack woke up the first thing he saw was Dylan keeping vigil by his bedside. Well he had been but had fallen asleep in his chair.

Jack remembered his pleas in the alley. He stared at the man that had kept his promise. Dylan had held him, protected him, and saved his life that night.

He looked up at the door as the Four Horsemen came in. They looked relieved that Jack was awake and Jack grinned at the look of fondness coming from Alma as she went over and kissed his forehead before turning her attention to the exhausted FBI agent/master magician.

"Let him sleep," Jack said quietly.

Alma only smiled and nodded as she carded her hands through his black curls.

Jack looked around the room at his family before shutting his eyes and falling back to sleep.

Alma

Alma grumbled in French as she glared at her stack of paperwork. It had not been her day that day.

She sighed as she grabbed a paper from the stack only for an envelope to fall from the pile. Alma blinked before smiling as she recognized Dylan's handwriting. Inside was a note as well as a card she recognized from the Eye. On the front of it was a picture of a beach. The back held a time, the day's date, and an address.

My Dearest Alma,

Magic is a dish best served warm and better when in good company. See you tonight.

Dylan

Alma smiled wide and looked at the clock before putting them away and getting to work.

As the sun was setting she arrived at a beach and found Dylan standing next to a picnic that held all of her favorites. He smiled at her as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

She grinned. "How did you manage to shake the children?"

The "children" being the Horsemen after Jack had called them "Mom and Dad". He'd been kidding at the time but it had stuck.

Dylan smirked as his eyes gleamed in mischief. "They're busy tonight."

Alma laughed as they sat down and enjoyed the meal as the sun cast colors over the sky as it set. They talked, ate, and laughed.

At one point they lay down and looked up at the stars. Alma curled up beside him and Dylan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Peace settled over the lovers as the waves crashed against the shore and a gentle breeze blew through.

Alma shut her eyes and smiled contently. This man was full of surprises and she had no intention of ever letting him go.

Dylan

Pain. That was all Dylan knew as he lay on the dirty warehouse floor. His tormentors had finally left him alone after hours of interrogation. Now he lay with a broken right leg, a bullet hole in his left knee, both arms out of socket, a swollen eye, a gunshot wound to the side, and several bruises and lacerations that bled and stained his clothes.

He had kept his mouth shut though. Tressler never learned anything about his Horsemen. The man had been relentless though in his revenge and he was definitely a loose cannon now.

Speaking of the former insurance businessman circled the agent. "I should have recognized you I suppose. After Shrike's death the papers said he had a son." He kicked Dylan's side making him grunt. "It wasn't personal you know. Just business. Now it is."

Dylan glared as Tressler knelt down. "Congratulations on your final magic trick: the Horsemen will live. Especially now that I know you were behind everything. You'll die in their place."

Tressler drew out a knife and raised it high above his head with a manic look in his eyes. He brought it down but before it could touch the prone body on the floor something flew in front of him and knocked it out of his hand. To his shock it was a Jack of clubs card!

"Get away from him," Daniel snarled.

Tressler glared. "No matter. He's a dead man no matter what."

"Run…!" Dylan croaked out painfully.

Merritt clenched his hands. "Sorry Dylan. Not this time. Tressler you are a wanted man by the FBI and Interpol."

Distant sirens were heard and Tressler glared as he went for the knife only for a ball of flame to hit it making it hot to the touch. He suddenly found himself tossed away from Dylan and trapped in a cage.

Merritt approached him as the others ran to Dylan. "He's an FBI agent and your DNA is all over him and that knife as well as the bat and gun you used. He will be well taken care of and cared for. You on the other hand will be locked up for the rest of your life. Say hi the Bradley for us." He turned around and went to his fallen friend.

Henley had tears in her eyes as she kissed Dylan's forehead and stroked his hair. Daniel and Jack were doing everything they could to help him. Merritt kneeled down and looked at him worriedly.

Dylan looked at them. "How did you know where I was?"

Daniel let out a shaky sigh. "The Eye sent us a card." He showed Dylan the card that had a picture of a shield as well as the word "GUARDIAN". On the back was the address to the warehouse.

Dylan nodded weakly as he began to lose strength. He smiled at them. "Don't lose…faith…in yourselves…"

"Don't you dare say goodbye!" Jack said frightened. "You're the closest thing to a father I've ever had in my entire life!"

"You can't leave us Dylan! We won't let you!" Daniel said eyes wide in fear.

"We love you!" Henley cried. "Ever since you came into our lives you've been like a father to us all!

Merritt got his attention. "You will not die do you understand me? You will live and let us take care of you for a damn change. You're the glue that got us and holds us together."

Dylan was touched but he nodded. "I'll stay…I'll…I'll try…"

They nodded as the sirens got closer. The Horsemen refused to leave him as the FBI barged in. Dylan weakly told them to let the Horsemen go because they had actually saved him and Tressler had been the one that had kidnapped him and beat him so badly.

So they did as Dylan was loaded into an ambulance and driven away.

It had taken several weeks for him to heal enough to be able to go home. During his stay the Horsemen and Alma had visited him constantly.

Alma smiled as she opened the door to his apartment and let him step inside.

Dylan looked around in shock! His apartment was cleaned and the place smelled wonderful. "What…?"

"Welcome home!" The Horsemen said as Merritt and Daniel helped him inside and to the couch.

Henley sat beside him and hugged him. "We finally get to take care of you for a change."

Dylan chuckled as he returned the hug. "Well I'm grateful."

Alma kissed his cheek. "Good…because if you EVER scare me like that again…"

Dylan chuckled. "Yes Ma'am."

After a light dinner the Horsemen sat around him with Merritt on Dylan's other side on the couch and the other three on the floor as the movie started. Not long into it he began to doze.

When they saw he was falling asleep they maneuvered him to lie down on the couch. Alma put his head on her lap and stroked his hair with a soft smile. Merritt then sat on the nearby recliner and got comfortable. Daniel and Henley curled up on the loveseat and Jack sat on the floor beside Dylan. Together they kept watch over their family.

The next morning Dylan awoke and looked around touched by their care. He smiled softly and shook his head wondering if The Eye had known all along the bond that would grow.


End file.
